MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2007
Sapporo (same name as the beer) is a lovely city. Dan and I had a great time there. It's got a nice international feel, yet is not as overwhelming as Tokyo. Dan and I aren't usually fans of cold weather, but we must be getting used to it because we both thought it would be great to live there... unfortunately we had to settle for a whirlwind weekend tour.
Our prime objective for the trip was to take in the Sapporo Yuki Matsuri (Snow Festival). It's freezing cold in Sapporo. (Just to give you an idea of how cold it is...I've been told that frozen boogers are a regular occurrence in this part of the country. Awesome.) Anyway, in true Japanese gambatte fashion, the Sapporo-ites make the most of the freezing cold weather and the piles of snow collecting on their sidewalks. They build ice and snow sculptures, called "setsuzo," in parks and public places, and light them up at night. You can wander through and look at the sculptures while snacking on all the usual festival foods sold out of little shacks and carts. Very fun!
Enjoy these setsuzo:
WHALE SHARK The setsuzo themes ranged from nature (like this one) to buildings (see below), and of course, anime...this is Japan afterall.
SNOW STAGE & ROCK BAND There were a few live performances on these huge stages made of snow and ice. This one has a snow/ice sculpture on it that's lit from the inside. The live performances were cool... if you're into Japanese rock.
Disney Sculpture This tribute to Disney was quite impressive and cute too!
Rarrrr! Snow sculptors from around the world represent their countries in the Yuki Matsuri. This sculpture from Hong Kong won the international competition. 
Oh my! This racy snow sculpture was submitted by Canadian sculptors. Scandalous eh? 
Global Warming Strikes Again! Though the sculptures were amazing in size and intricacy, you couldn't help noticing that quite a few of them were in a state of disrepair. Some of them were pitted and a bit misshapen. This is not due to shoddy work on the artists' part, rather, it was due to the weather. This year was really warm all over Japan. Bundled in ski jackets and gloves, we certainly didn't feel like it was warm, but as we wandered around the matsuri it was clear that the sculptures were feeling the heat. Here is a picture of a team trying to repair the damage done during the day. Hopefully, the Yuki Matsuri will not be another global warming fatality.
More setsuzo:
Want to see more from Sapporo? Click here:
Sapporo Asahiyama Zoo - Penguin Walk
Sapporo Snow Festival Ice Sculptures
Eating and Drinking in Sapporo
